If Haviland gets to coach the PP, one thing I'd like is that he's been around the org long enough to know what doesn't work.
haviland was on the cleveland staff the last two years, where david jiricek was a huge part of the power play. i think part of vincent/recchi's reluctance to give him minutes there was because he was a kid who they didn't trust, but haviland has a ton of familiarity with him.
We've had a shit PP since the second half of Werenski's rookie year. We've gone through coach after coach after coach on the PP. And when we bring in someone from outside the org, often times they come in and say "oh easy, Gaudreau here, Laine there, and Werenski there. Such great opportunity with this great cast." And we end up repeating the same stale style with the same mistakes.
recchi actually tried a lot of different stuff, most of it didn't work at all (laine up high on the right side, going away from the 1-3-1, etc.)
to his credit, some of it did! they had a cool entry where they'd create a dangerous rush chance from the right flank. problem is, they kept drawing up that entry for… justin danforth.
In my opinion, we either need someone new at the QB position who has a better arsenal of fakes and can free up shooters on both halfwalls, or if we're going to keep Werenski at the point it has to be a PP in motion. Werenski is legit one of the best offensive D in the league if he's moving. Guys like Fantilli, Chinakhov, Marchenko, etc... are excellent when they're weaving.
agreed – long-term, i think mateychuk best fits that role, but i'd like to see them try jiricek this year simply because it opens up a chance for him to rotate into the laine spot when gaudreau is moving around.
------ 19 (net-adjacent rather than netfront)
13 - 23 - 91
–-- 55 or 5 (if he makes the team)
gaudreau can come downhill, and fantilli can find open space for a sharp-angle one-timer or tap-in on the back post. monahan is awesome in the bumper. johnson is their best right side half wall guy imo.
second unit could have the russians + boone + werenski.